After Dark: GBSR Duo Performs Aphex Twin
Originally written for ‘robots’, Aphex Twin’s Computer Controlled Instruments pt2 is performed in transcription for live prepared pianos and percussion.
Computer Controlled Instruments pt2 is Aphex Twin’s most fully realised work for acoustic instruments.
Originally written for ‘robots’ (solenoid drum machines and prepared player pianos), this transcription for live prepared pianos and percussion becomes a tightly-choreographed dance: the four musicians, freely changing roles and instruments, constantly alter the exact combination of screws, bolts and chains inside the pianos that transform them into the engines of Aphex’s acoustic techno.
The EP Computer Controlled Instruments pt2 was released in 2015 on Warp Records. Pitchfork’s review said, ‘the individual sounds do indeed seem to be physical objects vibrating in space, as if James had marshaled a battalion of robots to realize his latest compositions.’
This is the second event in a double bill that straddles a musical dispute, pairing Stockhausen’s landmark KONTAKTE with Aphex Twin’s Computer Controlled Instruments pt2. The Stockhausen work is performed in the Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall before this event.
GBSR Duo – George Barton (percussion) and Siwan Rhys (piano) – combines two of the UK’s finest young contemporary chamber instrumentalists.
The duo has built its reputation on a combination of exceptional interpretations of the existing piano-percussion repertoire, committed performances of ambitious new commissions, and inventive collaborations.
Recorded excerpts from The Music Machine: The Technocrats, BBC Radio 3, 23 – 27 Oct 1995, presented by Dick Witts. Soundbite Productions, Lizzie Jackson (producer), Robert Heller (researcher).
Performers
George Barton percussion, drums, piano
Sam Wilson percussion, drums, piano
Siwan Rhys piano, wah-wah bass, lever harp
Joseph Havlat piano
Repertoire
Aphex Twin: Computer controlled acoustic instruments pt2 for 2 prepared pianos & percussion
Need to know
You can also access this event by purchasing a ticket to the Double Bill, which includes GBSR Duo: Stockhausen vs Aphex Twin (Double Bill) in the Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall at 8.30pm.
Find out more about the music with our free programme.
View the programme
For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
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